Dead Shot (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 1)

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Guy waited until he and Cal were outside the sheriff's office before he exploded.

"What were you thinking, driving around drunk and nearly killing yourself last night?!" Guy demanded.

"I wasn't, Guy. Someone is trying to keep me quiet because I'm learning too many details about the death of those boys."

"Oh, Cal, please. Spare me the conspiracy theories."

"It's not a theory. It's - "

"It's what, Cal? Ridiculous? True? I'm not interested in any excuses you've concocted while sitting in jail talking to crazy Willie. The bottom line is you're going to be suspended after today. I'd suspend you right now but I need your help on today's paper. Starting Wednesday, you'll have a one-day suspension without pay, got it?"

"On my day off?"

Guy said nothing. Cal quickly picked up the idea that Guy was feigning anger. Why he was doing so remained a mystery for the moment.

They walked through The Register's front doors before Guy picked up his tirade.

"After today, I don't want to see your suspended self down here, do you understand?"

Every newsroom employee pretended to look busy while sneaking glances at Guy and Cal walking through the office. Even Kelly wasn't sure how to react.

Cal tried to stop at his desk, but Guy nudged him forward, obviously intending for him to continue on to Guy's office.

After Cal took a seat in front of Guy's desk, Guy slammed the door. Guy sat down and then leaned across the desk. Cal leaned in too. Guy spoke only slightly more audible than a whisper.

"Cal, if you think that anger was for show, it won't be if you don't drop your little Sherlock Holmes fantasy. I know it might be difficult as a reporter to stop looking for the truth on a story, but I'm begging you to stop for your own good."

Confusion spread over Cal's face.

"What is going on here? Don't you want me to find out what's going on?" he asked back, matching Guy's hushed tone.

"If I did, Cal, I wouldn't have assigned you a simple reaction piece. God knows Sammy couldn't ferret out the truth for a news story if his life depended on it. I'm just asking you to do this as a friend. Can you do that for me?"

"OK, Guy. I guess I can just drop it."

"I don't mean just say you're going to drop it. I mean drop it, period. No off-the-clock digging. No asking any more questions. Nothing. Got it?"

"But, Guy, you don't know what I saw when I looked at those bodies at the coroner's office. It looked like - "

"No, no, no. I don't want to hear it, Cal. I don't care if it looked like a mountain lion attack. It's not important as far as I'm concerned."

"Not important? You're the managing editor! I thought the truth was important to you no matter what the cost."

"The truth is overpriced sometimes. Just lay off it, OK?"

Cal let out a big breath and then nodded.

"OK, Guy. I'll let this go for you."

"No, don't do it for me. Do it for yourself because if you don't, you'll find out what I mean. Now, go finish that reaction piece. I need it by 1:30."

Cal left Guy's office in a huff, more out of show than frustration-but both were clearly in play. He stopped at Kelly's desk and continued talking in a hushed tone.

"We need to talk. Got any lunch plans?"

The rest of the morning, Cal worked the phones, calling a few people who knew more than one of the teens who had died. He figured if he wasn't going to get an award-winning story, he might as well polish what he did write for inclusion in his clip file.

He talked to teachers and little league coaches and employers and family members. He looked at the teens' Facebook pages. Friends posted their favorite memories of them, some without discretion. They were tagged in photos from the end-of-camp cookout at Coach Walker's house on Saturday afternoon. They all looked so happy, so full of life. No more two-a-days. But now it was gone. And apparently no one really cared why.

Cal eventually exhausted every known connection to the young men before beginning to write. And write he did. By one o'clock, Cal had finished his story and was in desperate need of lunch and a serious debriefing with Kelly.